Security Science and Technology at Charleston Southern University

Security Science and Technology programs nationally produce first-year earnings around $39,000, which creates a tight financial picture when paired with an estimated $27,000 debt load at Charleston Southern. That 0.69 debt-to-earnings ratio means graduates would be looking at nearly nine months of gross income just to cover their student loans—manageable, but leaving little cushion for someone entering what's fundamentally a public safety or security field where early career salaries rarely spike dramatically.

What makes this challenging to assess is that we're working entirely from estimates. Both the earnings and debt figures come from similar programs nationally, not Charleston Southern's actual graduate outcomes. With only five schools offering this major in South Carolina and none reporting detailed data, parents have little visibility into whether CSU's specific program connects students to regional security employers or federal opportunities that might pay better than the national baseline suggests.

The real question is whether this degree opens doors that alternatives don't. If your child is targeting federal law enforcement, intelligence work, or corporate security roles that specifically require a bachelor's in security studies, the investment tracks with entry-level government pay scales. But if they're exploring security broadly, programs with reported outcomes—even in adjacent fields like criminal justice or emergency management—would give you actual data to work with rather than educated guesses about what graduates earn and owe.